The prequels have all the elements of a tragedy, but fumble on some key details and dovetailing with the originals in a sincere way. Far too much headcanon is necessary, or a lot has to be explained by Kenobi being a liar or a bad narrator.
Which was established by the OT, in regards to Obi being an unreliable narrator at best I think. This isn’t a defense of that writing choice in totality. If you’ve read the The Phantom Menace rewrite I posted on here, you’d see that that outline shows Owen’s connection to Anakin to build out a dynamic.
One needs outside the films lore or commentary from Lucas for it to make sense.
The only thing I think is required for much like that is Leia remembering Padme and the Owen thing. What else is there that need outside film lore or commentary from Lucas?
The way the Jedi are portrayed in the prequel is one of the worst aspects. And the way people have interpreted it as the Jedi stealing children, weird and political. Leads to things like the Acolyte. When it’s probably just people misinterpreting Buddhism. I don’t like the idea of Jedi as celibate ascetic monks because it doesn’t fit the originals or EU. But the Jedi were portrayed as being right. Anakin breaks his oath and bond and is never in the right.
I think nothing in the PT ever said the Jedi are celibate and nothing in the OT ever depicted the Jedi as not being celibate.
Though a part of the prequels problem, is trying to make Anakin an antihero. Making the Jedi seem like corrupt bureaucrats, shades of grey. When it should be black and white good and evil, like the OT. It’s all in the eye of the viewer, they are filling in the blanks, because Lucas did a hackneyed job of things. People start say was Anakin right, were the Jedi evil. They asked him to do bad things. to break the code. And we never get Anakin as the hero of virtue, who succumbs to the slow seduction of greed, desire for power. Someone you’d admire. Would think heck yeah that’s Luke’s father. At best we get the I’ll stop people from dying speech to Anakin’s moms grave. His greed at wanting to hold onto Padme which leads to her death. Lucas handles this pretty black and white. Anakin is a fault for not letting go. Yoda says to let her pass into the force, the shadow of greed, wanting to hold onto and miss someone.
I don’t see how the PT ever treats Anakin as an anti-hero in anyway. And I don’t think the Jedi are ever depicted as dabbling in corruption personally. We only see Mace try to murder Palpatine. Are you seriously referring to the Jedi getting Anakin to spy on Palpatine? Is that the corruption you’re speaking on? Please.
How does anyone taking this as the Jedi being evil make this the fault of the movies, when none of these things happen like this I think?
I think none of the OT ever said Anakin was seduced by greed or that Anakin was a hero of virtue, so I don’t know why you may have expected that really. But desire for power is shown at a very young age, in his want to become a Jedi and free the slaves, I think. It’s not power for power’s sake though, yes. But also, if it was, that has nothing to do with how Luke is lured into the dark side, nor does it have anything to do with why Vader turns away from the dark side, so why would just power for it’s sake be the whole of why Vader turned? And to say it’s only in AOTC I think is being fairly untethered to the narrative of the movies. It’s quite literally what he’s seeking throughout ROTS, the power over death, control over it I think. Anakin engagement with control and the idea of power is also depicted in his political notions, of people being made to agree and the idea of gaining more power leading to less deliberating and more action. Anakin’s investment in power is in several parts of his character I think. Do you think Anakin should talk about wanting power at these points?
Yoda says that attachment leads to jealousy, Yoda saying it’s the shadow of greed. Not that missing someone is.
You could have had a moment where he leads troops to victory in battle, is an amazing starpilot. Show him of a man of great deeds. The zeal he shows in leading the war effort in the Clone Wars is why Vader is fearsome and terrible. He is methodical. Maybe even have Kenobi and him have different philosophies on how to win the war. Anakin comes up close to the knifes edge of the dark side. Kenobi is a by the book, scriptural Jedi. Anakin’s loyalty is to Palpatine and The New Empire. An Empire forged to keep a confederacy of worlds in a galactic republic under control, because several start to secede. The Empire is the Republic rotted and corrupted. The politicians self dealing. The great war hero and general Skywalker, becomes the right Hand of the Emperor. The Dark Lord of the Sith.
I think all of this is in TPM and AOTC and ROTS.